Time and Infinity
by TrustNo1Scully
Summary: The fourth book of Heaven and Life - following my OC's, Vickie who is leader of the Foot Clan and Elmira, who is living through past events of her life before New York. Through this book, Elmira and Vickie's back stories are told as well as the supernatural events and influence of the Chinese Zodiac Gods. The past, present, and future are all touched upon.
1. Prologue

Prologue

Unnaturally, it was much earlier than when my daughter stirred, pained for food and woke up. I could hear her little wails in and out of my own sleep; I finally came to, waking up to tend to her. It was also different this time however, as she did not continue with her crying as she normally did until I or Raphael attended to her. When I woke up and realized that Raph wasn't sleeping next to me, I automatically assumed that he had gotten up and left to take care of Satsuna. As much as my body fought for me to stay in bed and fall back to asleep, internally I felt something was wrong.

As I slunk out of bed, throwing on a housecoat to cover myself up, I quietly left my bedroom, making my way down the hallways towards my daughters room. I remembered when Raph and I were decorating her room, before she was even born. We had spent the weekend painting and putting together baby furniture, the glow of parenthood encompassed us. When I first found out I was pregnant, it took me quite a while to accept that I was going to become a mother and Raphael, my partner and our baby's father. When I was completely sure I was pregnant, I told Raph and he, couldn't control his happiness in the good news. I knew that he took longer to trust people and form a relationship with them but this, our union together showed him that what the two of us had was concrete, was worth sharing with our own children, our own family. He had grown to be even more protective of me and somewhat wary of his own self, the last thing he wanted to do was disappoint our child. When I found out later on that we were having a baby girl, Raph swore himself to the both of us. No matter what would happen, if anything, his life was unworthy and unimportant to ours, our happiness greater than his.

Satsuna was only seven days old as today started, a week of her life shared with family and friends and without a doubt, sincere love and affection. The only "family" that didn't give their warm blessings was Vickie but I didn't consider her as family anymore. Undoubtedly, Raph was a natural as being a father; his every waking breath was set towards Satsuna.

I never did truly witness Raphael's gentle and devoting side fully, even when the two of us shared private and romantic moments together. This was a whole new level, one that could have only been awakened by entering the role as a father. Satsuna, as Raph said, was the luckiest little girl in the world.

Satsuna's bedroom door was slightly open, a tiny sliver of light escaped from the crack of the door. There was not a sound to be heard, nothing from Satsuna or Raph who, would always try to coo her to sleep. Gingerly, I pushed open the door, my heart warming with the promise of seeing Raph holding our baby girl in his arms, telling her that she was the most beautiful little girl in the world. When I fully opened the door and stepped into the room, Raph was kneeling down, his body hunched forward, his hands out and palms upwards. I didn't understand at first what he was doing; something was definitely off with this picture.

I looked over at Satsuna's crib, the blankets tossed and bunched, looking displaced. My baby wasn't in her crib. I looked back at Raph, his body heaving with irregular breath. What was happening? Where was my baby?

I slowly walked towards Raphael, clutching my nightgown closer to my body. Words were caught in my throat and my hands were shaking, the silence in the air hung like a heavy fog and I found it difficult to breathe.

"Raph?"

My voice cracked and I tried peering over his shoulder. He pushed me away, hovering further inwards, hiding what was before him on the floor.

Something snapped inside of me; fear, anxiety, something I've never felt before. I grabbed his arm, pulling it as I tried to drag him away. His hands were covered in blood; some of it was even dripping off of his fingertips. He didn't say a word, just his body communicated with me, pushing me farther away. I tried with all my strength, tears welling and clouding my eyes, my body shaking without control. I couldn't hear myself scream nor could I hear Raph yelling at me to leave, to walk away.

When I finally broke through past him, his bloody hands clutched tightly at my nightgown, I saw what he was trying to hide from me, where the blood had come from. All of my senses came back full throttle, the silence deafening me with a shattering noise. My throat was sore; I knew my voice would be hoarse if I tried speaking. What was worse was that my tears had stopped, there was no more emotion could display in response to the scene laid out before me.

Satsuna was lying on her back, her hands curled up by her mouth as if she was sucking on her tiny fist. She looked peaceful, even more so than when she was asleep. Her chest had no rise or fall nor did her body twitch in dream and sleep. She was however asleep. A permanent and premature sleep.

I fell down to my knees, my shaking hands reaching out to pick up my daughter. She felt like a dead weight, nothing more than a plastic doll with perfect skin and closed eyes. Her neck was bruised to a dark purple, her lips sky blue, and little rings around her eyes were a pink hue. She had been strangled, coughed up blood and left for dead. I brought her slowly up to my chest, hoping that if I held her close to my breasts, which the warmth would bring her back to me, which this was something I could fix.

Raphael was sitting next to me on the floor, his hands were placed on top of his thighs, blood was smeared all over him. His eyes were glazed over, and expressionless mask covered his face. It hit me then and I held my dead baby girl close to my chest that Raphael, her father, had killed her.

I kept my gaze on him, my emotions changing from shock to disgust to finally anger. I stood up suddenly, Satsuna still in my arms. Raph looked up at me then, his eyes met mine and I knew then, in that moment, he didn't regret what he had done to our daughter.

He had waked up on the seventh day of her life with the intention to kill her.

For nine months I allowed our baby to grow inside of me, to enter the world with utmost happiness, love, and the promise of a loving family. I had named her, fed her, clothed her, laid her down to sleep, and woke with her as the sun rose and now, on the seventh day, I would lay her back down to rest, return her to where she had just come from, seven days ago.

I backed out of the room, my daughter clutched against my breasts. I could still feel her soul in the room; a sickening and heavy presence lingered here too.

Raphael's soul was no longer with him, leaving an empty shell of a man who could, without remorse, kill his own daughter and betray the woman he loved.


	2. Chapter 一: Bitter

Chapter一: Bitter

"The death of your parents has left you with a hole in your heart, a wall in your mind, and a chain around your body. You must overcome everything that has happened, you must start again. I am here for you Elmira, you are mine now and I will keep you safe."

My grandfather, Manabu Saki, was now legally my guardian after my parents were killed. I was five years old now, without my mother and father. I was born as Elmira Saki, half Japanese and half American on my mother's side. My parents had met when my mother, Evelyn Anderson, came to Mt. Tate, Japan as an exchange student from America. She met my father, Takeo Saki shortly after and with my mother's native charms and my father's traditional ways, the two of them wed after a year of my mother's time as a student. While my mother was still in school, my father worked alongside my uncle and my grandfather. Shortly after, when my father had made enough money and when my mother finished her schooling, they bought a house. Three years later, I was born.

Being a child of mixed cultures, I acquired an American name but resembled my Japanese heritage through my physical appearance. I was the oldest female child, an only child and one born under the Tiger in the zodiac. My father used to tell me stories about the zodiac legend, the animals and the mystical Shaman who put an end to the world's suffering. I was intrigued by these stories, so much so that it was habitual of me to ask others what sign they were born under.

As a child born under the Tiger, I was courageous, adventurous, and sometimes, unpredictable. I was everything a Tiger child was supposed to be, a stark example.

Apart from my fascination in Asian mythology, my father had decided to train me in a Japanese martial art form known as Karate. I became a _karateka_* at age two, and by five years old, I was presented with my green belt, a level four in rank. I trained not only as a _gakusei_* of Karate but as a passionate, determined little girl who found tranquility and excitement in kata forms, round house kicks, and counting to ten in Japanese. The time I spent with my father was solely when we trained together the only time he took out of his busy schedule to spend with his daughter.

The time I spent with mother before her death was that of household duties and interestingly, reading a selection of various texts. We read history books, literature, science journals, children books, anything she could get me to sit down with her and listen to. The majority of what she read to me at such a young age went right over my head but I was interested regardless. I loved hearing my mother's voice, the touch of her hands around me, the way she flipped the pages and folded the edges of the page. She was my gateway to places other than Mt. Tate, Japan. She was my gateway to other people, ideas, places, and dreams.

The five years I spent with my parents were happy ones, adventurous, and important. They were my best friends, my touchstones, and my support. Who was going to replace them now?

My grandfather was a kind and traditional man of his ways, a business man and a Sensei in various martial art forms. I wasn't necessarily close to him and we only got to see him for festivities, holidays, and birthdays. I couldn't see myself living with my grandfather for the rest of my life; he was more focused on work and not so much towards his family.

Now, as I stood inside the hallway of his home, my belongings in bags and boxes, I couldn't envision what our life would be like together.

After two weeks of living with my _Sofu_*, he had become like a mirror image of my father. When he was working, I was either a school or left to be taken care of by the house servants. When he was home, and not busy with work, he would train me. I advanced from a green belt to a red belt, my performance and attitude was refined over time and my outlook on training was less about enjoyment and more focused on _bushidō_*. But before this happened to its extreme, my Sofu introduced me to Iaido, the art of drawing a sword and Kyūdō, the Japanese art of archery. These schools of training were incorporated into my life for reasons unclear but it was fun to study other techniques other than Karate. I was a young child, a female child who learned to use weapons and fighting skills, a _Kunoichi_*.

There were times however when I questioned my grandfather about my parents death, why they were no longer with me. Countless times I would ask him to tell me, so that my heart would no longer be so bitter. He refused to tell me anything, he allowed my heart to ache and forever rot in the unknown reason for my parent's death.

* karateka – student of Karate

* gakusei – student

* Sofu – grandfather

* bushidō – way of the warrior

*Kunoichi – female ninja


	3. Chapter 二: Jealousy in Love

Chapter二: Jealousy in Love

The sun had just risen in the Eastern sky and the end of a tiny life was just taken. In the ancient world of Japan, the world was overrun by what was known as the Zodiac Gods. The Zodiac Gods were represented in the forms of various animals and, each animal had its own specific control and influence over people, igniting negative and violent impulses. These God-like creatures reigned down upon humanity and brought forth human 'emotions'. Through this, the lack of control was evident throughout the human race. As each animal contained significant positive and negative attributes, only the negative broke through and were displayed out into the world. The first recorded incident was that of the empowerment by the Dog. The Dog was known to be a judgemental and defensive creature that would stir extreme jealousy and this, turning loved ones against one another.

So then, when the sun had risen to mark a new day in what now is known as Japan, a life had come to its immediate end. A little boy and a little girl, siblings to one another and born to farmers who red livestock, had woken up with the rising sun and committed a heinous act.

When the sun rose that morning and Noriko woke with her brother Osamu, their intentions were carried out with the intentions of the Dog. Ironically, it was a dog they killed, their pet that their mother doted so much upon. The siblings believed that their mother showed much more love towards their pet than to them. With this jealous streak in their hearts, the siblings had come to form a plan of destroying their pet. When Noriko and Osamu went outside that morning, Osamu untied their dog from the post and brought him to the toolshed were Noriko was waiting, an axe held heavily in her tiny hand.

With one swing of the axe, their pet was slain and the siblings believed that their feelings of jealously had diminished. By the slaying of their pet, the other farm animals were stricken by terror, sending off an alarm of distress and panic. The noise had awoken Noriko and Osamu's parents and they, rushed out of their tiny hut in panic that their children had been hurt. When their parents reached the shed and saw the bloody hands of their son and the axe held heavy in Noriko's hands, their parents fell to their knees, struck by the horror of their children. Their father mustered enough strength to hug their mother tightly in his arms, shielding her from the sickening truth of what their children had done.

The period that Noriko and Osamu thought was over for their jealousy had arisen once again. The siblings gave one another a silent yet confirming glance. As their parents remained huddled up together on the ground, Noriko lifted her axe, trudging along towards her parents. Osamu followed his sister, his dead gaze locked onto his defenceless parents, knowing that he and his sister would forever dwell in jealousy that was caused by them. The love his mother had for their father, the love she had towards their dog was love the siblings never received from her. Their father was harsh and rarely had time to spend with them and their mother, despite being a farmer's wife, tried lavishing in the finery they couldn't afford. As their mother was overly materialistic, she cared nothing for her children and Noriko and Osamu knew this without a doubt.

When Noriko had stopped in front of her kneeling parents, her father was trying to shield her mother and he, Noriko slowly lifted the heavy axe above her head. Her father quietly said a prayer, asking for forgiveness for what his children had stooped to, their mother could only cry and mumble broken 'I love you', but only to her husband. Even during their mother's last moments on earth, there were no hints of affection towards her children. When the axe sliced down through the air and met on contact to her parents, the jealousy in young Noriko and Osamu had subsided. Noriko dropped the bloody axe by the lifeless bodies of her parents and turned to her brother in silence; both of them were covered in the blood of the woman they despised the most. Both of them, by influence of the Dog had committed three murders that day and the hunger for the release of jealously had fled.

The Dog, when not judgemental and defensive, can be loyal, faithful, and honest. Although the Dog value's honor, Noriko and Osamu found it quite honorable to slay their parents, to return honor onto themselves for the lack of love and care their mother failed to give them.


End file.
